Amplification Crash Course

[tkersey]

Hello all. I’m relatively new to the forum. I’ve played for years and recently acquired my first guitar with a pickup, a Martin GPC 15ME. I have no hands on experience with amplification. From what I’ve gathered a combo amp would be the most practical and affordable way to get what I’m looking for. I play blues and bluegrass and want something that will reproduce the tone of my guitar when it’s amped rather than lots of effects. I don’t know anything about reverb, chorus etc. Can anyone recommend a thread or additional source where I can educate myself on this topic?

[pieterh]

Trawl around this sub-forum to begin with, there is a wealth of information and knowledge from a whole bunch of nice and informed players here!

Your guitar has an under saddle pickup plus a sound board transducer which should give you a pretty natural tone. A decent amp will help you tweak the eq etc to find a tone you’re happy with.

Identify what you want the amp for - is it for playing at home or are you going to want to have it as part of an on-stage setup?

Effects etc are fun but personally I don’t use them much with acoustic. If you’re playing on your own reverb is essential to give the sound a sense of space or air - but be careful not to use too much until you’re more experienced. How much can also depend on the room. If you’re playing a gig somewhere get someone to help with the levels unless you have the benefit of a sound person in which case let them decide - they may prefer to take a dry (effect-free) signal and add reverb appropriate to the space.

Chorus is a fun effect but there is a risk it would make your sound a bit plasticky - subtle is good if using it at all.

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by tkersey

Hello all. I’m relatively new to the forum. I’ve played for years and recently acquired my first guitar with a pickup, a Martin GPC 15ME. I have no hands on experience with amplification. From what I’ve gathered a combo amp would be the most practical and affordable way to get what I’m looking for. I play blues and bluegrass and want something that will reproduce the tone of my guitar when it’s amped rather than lots of effects. I don’t know anything about reverb, chorus etc. Can anyone recommend a thread or additional source where I can educate myself on this topic?

Welcome aboard! That is one sweet guitar, and with one of Fishman's nicer pickups too.

I don't have a single great source for you, though a few recent threads may help. However, sharing your budget and how you plan to use it (home only, or gig and if so venue size) will likely produce helpful suggestions from forum members with specific recommendations. And the bonus question, will you sing through it, because some acoustic guitar amps reputedly are better at that than others.

There are probably better threads in the past but here are recent ones:

Guy slimming down his setup:
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=599344


Bose S1 versus Acoustic Amp:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=596848

Guy new to acoustic amps:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=599032

Bose S1 questions

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=598343

There's a wider variety of combo amps favored by members than mentioned here, but it's a start. The holy grail of acoustic amplification, "my guitar but louder" or "something that will reproduce the tone of my guitar when it’s amped rather than lots of effects" is pursued by some via the $399 Tonedexter, not an amp, of which more here:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=597740

[dnf777]

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/ac...-buying-guide/

That link has some basic info, and of course links to purchase products.
You are correct thatva combo amp is a good place to start, and then upgrade once you figure out what you need. Or dont.

I think you’ll find a fair amount of agreement that the fishman loudbox series are good acoustic amps in general, and have three models depending on your needs. There are cheaper amps out there, but for what you get for the price, the loudboxes are a good value, IMO. They also have reverb and chorus, if you decide you want to add those-not the best, but adequate. You can always add pedals. Pure and faithful amplification can sound a little “sterile” to some folks, and a touch of reverb can really help. Good luck- you have lots of really good and affordable options out there.

[DownUpDave]

Lots of great info and advice has already been given. I would advise you to buy an acoustic amp over a combo amp, unless you play electric guitar as well. An acoustic amp will give the best acoustic tone and will usually have adjustments for high, med and low tone as well as reverb and chorus.

The big question is do you play out or is this for home use. Taking Fishman Loudbox as an example, the Mini is great for home with enough power for small rooms and gatherings. As you go up to the Artist and Performer you get more power (higher volume level) plus more controls to shape the tone farther.

I have a Fishman Mini one of my playing partners has the Fishman Artist and it does us well. But we don’t play big rooms.

[Methos1979]

Welcome to the forum and the fun! Two big questions are what are you going to be playing TO - ie, yourself, friends, groups, bands, gigging out, etc. Then what is your budget. These two questions along with other info you've already given will allow us to make some suggestions. Almost all acoustic amps will have some EQ and effects that get the job done. Less is more when it comes to effects anyway. Regardless of your answers, the Fishman Loudbox line is great with something for just about every size and $$$ configuration from the excellent Mini to the even better Artist and up from there. Used prices are great for these amps as well.

[varmonter]

I would take a different
approach. A dedicated acoustic combo
Amp is a good start. But limited
in the respect of future growth potential.
I might suggest a small mixer like
The zed10x. And a pa speaker
The qsc cp8 or cp12. This will
Give you the ability to play out
Down the road and the potential
to add members to your group.
Once bought and payed for an
Amp can be purchased and used
live as a monitor or as an at home
practice tool.

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by varmonter

I would take a different
approach. A dedicated acoustic combo
Amp is a good start. But limited
in the respect of future growth potential.
I might suggest a small mixer like
The zed10x. And a pa speaker
The qsc cp8 or cp12. This will
Give you the ability to play out
Down the road and the potential
to add members to your group.
Once bought and payed for an
Amp can be purchased and used
live as a monitor or as an at home
practice tool.

Thats a really good point. Along those lines (in defense of the combo acoustic amp) Ive seen more than a few loudboxes serving as a di/monitor running into a mixing board or PA system. In that regard, they also have room to grow into a bigger system.

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by tkersey

Hello all. I’m relatively new to the forum. I’ve played for years and recently acquired my first guitar with a pickup, a Martin GPC 15ME. I have no hands on experience with amplification. From what I’ve gathered a combo amp would be the most practical and affordable way to get what I’m looking for. I play blues and bluegrass and want something that will reproduce the tone of my guitar when it’s amped rather than lots of effects. I don’t know anything about reverb, chorus etc. Can anyone recommend a thread or additional source where I can educate myself on this topic?

Here is a book/online from Forum member, Dough Young:

https://store.acousticguitar.com/col...ion-essentials

BluesKing777.

[SupremeDalek]

I play my acoustics and electrics through the same amplifier... A 66 Super Reverb. Perfect representation of my acoustic tone? No, but it does have the sound I want. My advice is to plug your guitar into anything you can and see what fits for you, your style, and your goals. I play in a band, so my rig works for me, pedals and all.

[varmonter]

Originally Posted by dnf777

Thats a really good point. Along those lines (in defense of the combo acoustic amp) Ive seen more than a few loudboxes serving as a di/monitor running into a mixing board or PA system. In that regard, they also have room to grow into a bigger system.

Yes providing they have that pa system to plug into..

[rmp]

to reproduce with any thing close, a full range setup is really what is needed

amps voiced for electric guitars can be made usable, but there's going to be frequencies that those amps are not capable of reproducing.

There are lots and lots of acoustic guitar amps out there, decide what you want to spend and try some out.

The fishman loudboxes are pretty much THE go to's, but there are other choices depending on your intentions to use it, and how much dough you're looking to part with.

[sam.spoons]

Welcome to the rabbit hole

Some good advice above but nobody seems to have touched on the question of it sounding like 'your guitar amplified'. You have a nice guitar fitted with one of the more sophisticated pickup systems and as such it should get you fairly close but no pickup system will get you all the way there unaided. The first thing to decide is whether the raw pickup system delivers a sound you are happy with (i.e. is close enough to the acoustic sound for your needs) and until you have something to plug it into (a PA system, a recording system or an acoustic amp, not an electric guitar amp*) you can't find that out.

The next issue is budget, if it is small then compromise is the key and the best value will come from a small acoustic guitar amp, maybe a Fender Acoustisonic 40 would be a decent budget buy, if the money is there the aforementioned Fishman is a reliable choice as is an AER Alpha 40 or Compact 60. But whatever you buy either try first or, if buying mail order make sure you have a return option in case it doesn't live up to expectations.

At this stage I would steer clear of mixers and PA systems, they have the potential to deliver a great sound, especially when you use a sophisticated preamp in front but is a much more complex and expensive deal with a much bigger learning curve.

HTH

* though that may deliver a sound that works well for blues, less so for bluegrass

[Br1ck]

There are not too many acoustic amps that do well with vocals. Some really nice amps like an AER need a big room to really deliver the sound you are looking for. In particular the Loudbox mini falls short to my ears, but could be OK for a casual player. I'd suggest a Carvin AG 300 but they are no longer made.

A great sounding entry approach would be a Behringer powered speaker. You can get an 8" powered speaker for around $200. We use these as monitors and people used to QSCs are impressed. I wouldn't tell you not to buy QSCs if you can afford them, but Behringer's aren't junk. Get a mixer with onboard effects and you'll be in business. Add another speaker down the road if you want.

[TedBPhx]

I don’t play out. Strictly a bedroom guitarist. But an amp gives me the ability to use a looper pedal. And that is fun! And really helped my timing.